Unfortunately the journey in VALORANT Challengers 2025 ended for us last weekend, as we lost 1-2 to Team Liquid Academy in the Lower Bracket.

The best-of-three series started off well for our European squad with a victory on the first map of Sunset. Despite a close scoreline of 14-12, it was enough to put Metizport up 1-0 in the series as the clash went on to the next map of Ascent. However, on the second map the opponents took control early and ran off with a 13-5 scoreline, forcing the third map in the series, Lotus. But neither in this map was Captain Mathias “SEIDER” Seider able to lead his team to victory, as Team Liquid Academy secured 13 rounds next to Metizport’s 7.

With the defeat happening in the Lower Bracket, the team was given no more chances – elimination from the tournament was a fact, putting them on a top 6 finish with a little under $700 in prize money. Had they managed to secure a win in this match, they would have been locked in for the “next stage”, Challengers EMEA, where teams collect points needed to earn a spot in VCT Ascension EMEA 2025, the biggest tournament of the year for Challenger teams.

But as they fall just before the finishing line, the European squad is now locked out of the remaining season and will not earn a spot in Ascension. With a few months left on their contracts, more news will be coming soon regarding the team and their future in the organisation.

Still, we don’t want to shy away from saying a big thanks to them all for the fantastic performance throughout the last Split of the tournament. With a second Split back in April ending badly with an early elimination – and the removal of Burak “burzzy” Özveren from the roster thereafter – the guys went into the last Stage essentially with a no-defeat policy, as they had to make it to at least top 4 in order to have a chance of reaching their end goal of Ascension. Only finishing top 16 last Stage, the team had to start in the Lower Swiss Phase of the tournament this time around, where if they didn’t make it out of the Swiss-system, they would be relegated and Metizport would lose their spot in the league.

The top 6 result in the entire tournament is even more impressive when you take into consideration the team was in a dire situation in the Lower Swiss, down 1-2 with one loss away from getting relegated. Add on top of that ShadoW having to step in for shinnok in the remaining two matches as the Hungarian’s internet went down. The Swede kept the team cool, however, as they managed to beat both teams standing before them, and in the next stage – the Upper Swiss Phase – Metizport had once again found their confidence and easily qualified to top 8 and Playoffs after going 3-1 in the initial Swiss Stage.

SEIDER didn’t cave in to the pressure in Lower Swiss

All in all, we are proud of the players for their hard work and professionalism kept all the way through the tournament. We also want to say thanks to all the fans who cheered us on and supported us all the way. As we have a spot in the €45,000 league locked in for 2026, the work starts now to plan for the upcoming year and see how we’re going to approach it. You can expect more news in the upcoming days!

If you want to relive one of the best moments from the tournament, when the squad secured top 8 after a sweaty match against deti ulice, you can click here.